The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A dilapidated sign with the motto “No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World” hangs above the porch of the little New England bookshop known as Island Books. The irascible owner, A.J. Fikry, is about to find out what that really means.
The life of A.J. Fikry is not at all what he had anticipated. The worst sales in the history of his bookstore, his wife’s passing, and the theft of his prized possession—a rare collection of Poe poems—all happened at the same time. Even the books in his store no longer give him pleasure. These days A.J. can only see them as a result of how quickly the world is evolving.
A dilapidated sign with the motto “No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World” hangs above the porch of the little New England bookshop known as Island Books. The irascible owner, A.J. Fikry, is about to find out what that really means.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
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The life of A.J. Fikry is not at all what he had anticipated. The worst sales in the history of his bookstore, his wife’s passing, and the theft of his prized possession—a rare collection of Poe poems—all happened at the same time. Even the books in his store no longer give him pleasure. These days A.J. can only see them as a result of how quickly the world is evolving.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is an extraordinary story of redemption and second chances that is as startling as it is heartfelt. It is an enticing statement of why we read and why we love.
The one bookstore, called Island Books, is situated on Alice Island. A.J. Fikry, who is 39 years old, is the owner of this bookstore. Books have taken over A.J.’s life. He is steadfast in his reading preferences and assumes that everyone will share them. He resides on the bookstore’s upper floors.
A.J.’s life has not been going well. His beautiful wife Nic passed away in a car accident more than a year ago, and since then, misery and loneliness have taken over his life. His company is struggling as well. He is binge drinking, eating frozen dinners every night, not exercising, and acting reclusive. A.J. enjoys getting along with his sister-in-law.
The good-hearted Chief Lambiase, a police officer on Alice Island, stops by the bookstore to check on A.J. and ends up purchasing a book. The Chief enjoys reading detective novels, but A.J. advises him to try something new once in a while. A.J. is disrespectful and ignores all of the sales representative’s recommendations when she arrives to show A.J. the latest releases from Knightly Press. He wishes to conduct business with the former sales representative who, regrettably, died but was aware of A.J.’s preferences. The new sales representative is Amelia Loman. She is not in the least moved by A.J.’s attitude. A.J. is still a priority for Amelia.
Since nothing is left to steal, A.J. has stopped locking his door. When he comes back from being outdoors one day, he discovers a parcel in the bookstore’s back room along with a message. A.J.’s life would change drastically. After hearing about this mysterious package, the residents of Alice Island become so intrigued that they must visit the bookstore to view it for themselves. Naturally, they were unable to attend without bringing a book.
It is a story about life’s ups and downs and how we choose to deal with them, not only about books and the joy of reading. The plot features second chances, loss, and love.
